That I should be the
minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that
the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the
Holy Ghost. (Rom 15:16)
In his comments on this verse, Reformed theologian John Murray argues that
Paul is based on Isa 66:20:
The expression “the
offering up of the Gentiles” is without precise parallel in the New Testament.
But it has its parallel in Isaiah 66:20: “And they shall bring all your
brethren out of all the nations for an offering unto the Lord” (the Hebrew is מנחה and the
LXX δωρον. But the
word used by Paul, προσφορα would be the more appropriate). It may be that
Paul derived this concept from the Isaianic passage which appears in a context
of blessing to all nations and tongues (cf.
Isa. 66:18). This then is the offering which Paul as apostle of the Gentiles
offers to God in the exercise of priestly activity. The Gentiles as converted
to the faith of the gospel are regarded as presented holy unto God. Again we
see how extraneous of the Levitical pattern is the priestly function exercised
by the ministers of the new covenant. (John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans: The English Text with Introduction,
Exposition and Notes, Volume II: Chapters 9 to 16 [Grand Rapids, Mich.:
Eerdmans, 1965], 210-11)
Perhaps unbeknownst to Murray and others, Isa 66:20 and other
like-prophecies are not prophecies of all believers in the New Covenant but
instead, a special class of people therein—those who are priests in the New
Covenants ordained, ministerial priesthood.
In
my book, After
the Order of the Son of God: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for
Latter-day Saint Theology of the Priesthood, I discuss in chapter 1 the Old Testament prophecies of an
ordained, ministerial priesthood as part of the prophesied New Covenant,
discussing texts such as Isa 56:6-7; 66:18-22 and Jer 33:17-22 (cf. The Biblical
Evidence for an Ordained, Ministerial Priesthood in the New Covenant from the
Last Supper Accounts).
With reference too
those who might claim that such prophecies were fulfilled singularly in the
person of Jesus and/or the “priesthood of all believers,” Robert Bellarmine,
one of the best critics of Protestant theology in history, responded thusly:
The fourth testimony
is found in Isaiah 66:21, “And I will take from them priests and Levites, says
the Lord.” This is similar to what we find in Jeremiah 33:17-18, “There shall
not be cut off from David a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel.
Nor shall there be cut off from the priests and Levites a man before my face to
offer holocausts, and to burn sacrifices, and to kill victims continually.”
Jerome explains these passages from Isaiah, and Theodoret those of Jeremiah, in
regard to the priests of Christ, who will perpetually remain even to the end of
the world. It cannot be explained otherwise, since clearly both Prophets speak
about the conversion of the gentiles and the building of the Church.
Chemnitz (Exam.
2 part. Pag. 753), acknowledges that these passages should be explained in
regard to the priests of the New Testament, nor does he give any other response
except that these prophecies were partly fulfilled in Christ, who was the true
priest, and succeeded the priests of the Old Testament, and partly fulfilled in
all Christians, who are spiritual priests. But neither exposition touches the
matter. Not in regard to Christ alone can these prophecies be understood, since
they clearly place priests and Levites, nor can they be understood in regard to
all Christians, since both Prophets distinguish those who are going to be
priests from the rest. (Robert Bellarmine, On the Most Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass [trans. Ryan Grant; Post Falls, Idaho: Mediatrix Press,
2020], 75)
